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08

Dec

Culture Smart: Wrap a Gift and Don’t Forget the Feather

by Sheron Long on December 8, 2013

Swan standing on planet Earth, representing a Chinese gift giving legend. Image © Denis Zaporozhtsev / Hemera.

China’s swan feather legend is a gift to the world.
© Denis Zaporozhtsev / Hemera

In Chinese tradition, the legend of the swan feather dates to the Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE) and is still relevant today, especially during this gift-giving season.

According to legend,  a local official in a far-away vassal state asked Mian Bogao to take two swans to the emperor as a gift. Such gift-giving was customary to show respect to the emperor, and swans (rarely found in China) were the most precious of gifts.

Swan feather, symbolizing gift giving with sincerity and respect in Chinese tradition. Image © Lendy 16 / iStock.

A single swan feather sends a significant message.
© Lendy 16 / iStock  Read more...

 

China/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Cultural Symbols/Literary World

21

Nov

C is for Cyclops, S is for Sicily

by Sheron Long on November 21, 2013

Cyclops' face on a boat in Aci Trezza, Sicily, recalls the country's Greek cultural heritage. Image © Robert Long.

Cyclops on board! Sicily’s Greek heritage stares you in the face from a boat in Aci Trezza.
© Robert Long

Stories Speak of Cultural Heritage

Under the watchful eye of my high school English teacher, I learned about the 10-year voyage of Odysseus (aka Ulysses) and his encounter with the cyclops, never imagining that I would one day see evidence of their fight.

Yet, here I am on the Cyclops Riviera where the encounter occurred. Before my eyes, stories—old and new—engage me in the cultural heritage of Sicily.  Read more...

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Italy/Literary World

10

Nov

Culture Smart: Sew Me a Story

by Sheron Long on November 10, 2013

Story quilt by Harriet Powers, showing African American artistic traditions and the influence of African heritage on quilts created by slaves

Story quilt created in 1898 by African American quilter Harriet Powers

The Quilt Designs of Harriet Powers

Harriet Powers (1837–1910) never learned to read or write, yet her story quilts left a significant record of life and events in the American south of the 19th Century.  Read more...

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Literary World/The World's Art & Design/USA

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